New trial date set in Wilkinson murder case

The Willits man accused of torturing and killing his grandfather was back in Mendocino County Superior Court Friday morning for a pretrial conference, and the prosecution and defense indicated he may plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

The murder trial for Kenneth Wilkinson, 23, was rescheduled for the second time after Public Defender Linda Thompson told the court that her deputy, Farris C. Purviance III, who had formerly represented Wilkinson, was in the hospital and was not expected back at work "for some time."

When prosecutor Paul Sequeira of the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office expressed concern that the April date Thompson initially asked for wouldn't give her enough time to prepare for the insanity plea, Thompson told the court her priority would be "the potential of the dual plea."

When a defendant pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, the trial is usually separated into two phases: a guilt phase where the jury weighs evidence regarding the defendant's factual guilt or innocence, and a sanity phase where the jury decides whether the defendant was legally insane when he or she committed the crime.

Insanity is a legal term under state law meaning that because of a mental defect or disorder, the defendant didn't understand the nature or quality of the act, or was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong.

Citing extensive preparation needed for the trial, Purviance had asked in June 2012 for a February trial date, but was given a November date unless he could show good cause for an extension. Judge John Behnke in December rescheduled the trial for Feb. 4.

The trial is now set to begin May 6, a date Thompson said would give her enough time to familiarize herself with the case and coordinate the expert witnesses she will need for the trial, which is expected to last two weeks.

"This is a very serious case, and it's important that it be tried or resolved as soon as possible," Behnke said.

Wilkinson could face life in prison without parole if he is convicted of killing his 84-year-old grandfather, Richard Mel Wilkinson, and a special circumstance that he tortured the elder Wilkinson by dragging him behind a pickup truck for nearly six miles on the night of March 17, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.

Wilkinson would be automatically eligible for the life-without-parole sentence if the special circumstance of torture is found true, the District Attorney's Office stated previously.

Purviance had said previously that the question of how and when the elder Wilkinson died would be an issue in court.

Early results from a March autopsy show that the 84-year-old man died of "multiple blunt force trauma," according to the Mendocino County Sheriff/Coroner's Office.

Authorities were called just after 11 p.m. the night of the incident to an East Hill Road home after family members reported that some kind of assault had taken place and that the elder Wilkinson was missing.

Deputies searched the area and found the elder Wilkinson dead, apparently dumped down a steep, brushy hillside off of the winding, dirt-and-rock Mariposa Creek Road.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.